Catonsville business owners recover from severe flooding

A few miles away from where water inundated much of Ellicott City Sunday night, one Baltimore County town also experienced heavy rainfall and flooding, and many local business owners are experiencing the brunt of the cleanup efforts.

Rugs are seen outside of the Peace of Sunshine shop on Frederick Road in Catonsville, Maryland, after severe flooding hit the town on Sunday, May 27, 2018. (Melissa Howell/WTOP)

WASHINGTON — A few miles away from where water inundated much of Ellicott City Sunday night, one Baltimore County town also experienced heavy rainfall and flooding, and many local business owners are experiencing the brunt of the cleanup efforts.

In Catonsville, Maryland, 10 inches of water fell on the area in about four to five hours, said Baltimore County Executive Don Mohler in a Monday morning news conference.

“A 100-year storm is considered 8 inches of water in a 24-hour period,” said Mohler. “That give you some sense of how forceful this particular storm was.”

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Atwaters, a local family-owned restaurant got 10 to 12 inches of water in the basement storage area escaping any serious damage.

“I got a call from my supervisor and he’s like, ‘There’s water coming in, about six inches at the time,'” said owner Casey Atwater.

While it’s more flooding than expected, she said, they bounced back quickly and plan to help those in Ellicott City who were hit even harder.

Flooded basements were a common occurrence in the Oella and Catonsville area following Sunday night’s storm. Monday morning, about 200 people were waiting for water to be pumped out of their basements, said Baltimore County Fire Chief Kyrle W. Preis.

The storm also caused flooding in local schools as well as 12 swift-water incidents, said Preis. Crews even rescued one man who was rescuing children playing in a stream during the heavy rainfall.

WTOP’s Melissa Howell contributed to this report.

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